Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) Shares Sold by Financial Sense Advisors Inc.

Financial Sense Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (NASDAQ:WBA) by 67.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 45,500 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock after selling 92,823 shares during the period. Financial Sense Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance were worth $508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WBA. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance in the 4th quarter worth approximately $58,241,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 186.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 7,740,100 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $72,215,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036,300 shares in the last quarter. Wealthquest Corp acquired a new position in Walgreens Boots Alliance during the first quarter worth about $38,457,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Walgreens Boots Alliance by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 32,572,567 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock valued at $303,902,000 after buying an additional 2,631,332 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 4,595,507 shares of the pharmacy operator’s stock worth $42,876,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,806 shares during the period. 58.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WBA stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $11.55. The stock had a trading volume of 134,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 18,702,542. Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. has a 12-month low of $8.08 and a 12-month high of $13.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.78.

Walgreens Boots Alliance (NASDAQ:WBA) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The pharmacy operator reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.04. Walgreens Boots Alliance had a positive return on equity of 17.66% and a negative net margin of 4.07%. The business had revenue of $38.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on WBA. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research report on Thursday, June 26th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen began coverage on Walgreens Boots Alliance in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $10.59.

Insider Activity

In other Walgreens Boots Alliance news, Chairman Stefano Pessina bought 832,258 shares of Walgreens Boots Alliance stock in a transaction on Sunday, April 27th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.01 per share, with a total value of $9,163,160.58. Following the acquisition, the chairman owned 145,621,079 shares in the company, valued at $1,603,288,079.79. This trade represents a 0.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 17.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Company Profile

Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc operates as a healthcare, pharmacy, and retail company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through three segments: U.S. Retail Pharmacy, International, and U.S. Healthcare. The U.S. Retail Pharmacy segment engages in operation of the retail drugstores, health and wellness services, specialty, and home delivery pharmacy services, which offers health and wellness, beauty, personal care and consumables, and general merchandise.